Mike Sherman challenges players: Make sons proud!

And for players, particularly those on offense, the fact they have not scored a touchdown in six quarters also has to be a humbling experience.

That's perhaps the reason Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman apparently went all Gen. George Patton on the group Monday. During a team meeting with his players, Sherman implored, indeed, demanded that players respond in heroic fashion against Buffalo Thursday night.

"That’s the great thing about football, it really tests you, not just your character as a football player, but your character as a man," Sherman said. "How do you handle adversity? Do you point fingers? Do you accept responsibility? Do you move forward? Do you wallow in despair? Feel sorry for yourself or do you push ahead? It really is a good character test for everybody in that room.

"I told them I want all of their sons to be proud of them, how they handle themselves."

Sherman threw down the proverbial gauntlet and seems confident Miami's players will answer the challenge.

"I’ve never felt more confident about a group of guys being able to handle a situation than I do the guys in that room," he said. "It’s ugly when you lose a game like that and deservedly so. We looked like we never even practiced a day in that game, but we’ve had some good days and we’ve had some bad days.